• The Minister of Science and the President of BIOGA sign an agreement for their contribution to the development of the Strategy.
  • The roadmap, which will be presented before the summer, will include contributions from both Galician and international professionals to determine priorities, challenges and expectations.
  • The goal is to have a high value-added productive fabric, capable of creating skilled jobs, attracting and retaining talent, and attracting investment.

Santiago de Compostela, January 23, 2026

The survey to provide a comprehensive overview of the biotechnology sector in Galicia is now available on the website of the Galician Innovation Agency (Axencia Galega de Innovación). Its purpose is to gather information and begin developing the new Biotechnology Excellence Strategy 2030. This was announced by the Minister of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training, Román Rodríguez, during the signing of a collaboration agreement with the president of the Business Technology Cluster of Life Sciences (BIOGA), José Manuel Vilariño, for consulting and advisory services in the development of the Strategy. The signing took place at the Mestrelab Research Center.

“This public survey is aimed at professionals in the sector with questions related to the latest trends in biotechnology, innovation and entrepreneurship, talent, training or financing instruments,” said Román Rodríguez, who stressed that the objective is “to have a global vision of the main priorities, challenges and expectations of professionals,” whom he encouraged to participate in it.

The survey is part of the planning process for the Biotechnology Excellence Strategy, which aims to consolidate Galicia as a leading bioregion internationally. “In this way, we are fulfilling the Galician Research and Innovation Plan 2025-2027, which establishes biotechnology as a high-impact initiative,” emphasized the representative of the Galician government. “Biotechnology is one of the key elements that define and enhance the competitiveness of Galician R&D&I,” he added.

The development of this roadmap, a process in which BIOGA is actively involved and which will be presented before summer, will be a participatory effort involving all members of the Galician biotechnology ecosystem, as well as national and international stakeholders who can help identify needs and contributions that will have a positive impact on this sector in Galicia. Meetings and working groups will also be held with public and private representatives to share their perspectives and thus help prioritize the strategy’s lines of action, identifying real needs and opportunities.

Work schedule

To have this plan ready by summer, which will expand upon the recently completed Biotechnology Consolidation Strategy 2021-2025, the work schedule is as follows: in January, data on the current situation will be monitored to obtain a final assessment of the roadmap implemented between 2021 and 2025, while until March, an analysis of trends, identification of sector capabilities, and barriers will be carried out. During April and May, the document will be defined and drafted for final presentation before summer.

Agreement with Bioga

Accompanied by the director of the Galician Innovation Agency, Carmen Cotelo, the Minister of Science highlighted the agreement signed today with BIOGA for an amount of 70,000 euros to provide their support in the development of the Strategy through advisory and consulting work.

This agreement will strengthen the role of the Galician biotechnology business sector and its value chain, multiplying its economic impact. The goal is to promote excellence in the biotechnology sector in our region through collaborative efforts, enhancing its competitiveness, innovation, and technology transfer to the business community.

In fact, the Regional Ministry has been collaborating with this entity since 2015, implementing five agreements that have fostered favorable conditions for the growth of this sector in Galicia. According to the interim assessment (2021-2023) of the previous Biotechnology Strategy, Galicia has 66 companies whose main activity is biotechnology, and more than 160 entities develop products or services based on this technology. Investment in biotechnology R&D increased by more than 20% compared to 2020 and now represents 17% of total R&D spending in Galicia, confirming the markedly innovative nature of this sector. Furthermore, the number of people working in biotechnology R&D exceeded 1,720, a 6% increase compared to 2020.

Press release extracted from the Xunta de Galicia website: Román Rodríguez encourages the biotechnology sector to participate in the survey for the development of the new Excellence Strategy 2030 – Xunta de Galicia